


A Game of Chess

by halfmoonmagic



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Bat Brothers, Batbros vs Ra's al Ghul, Damian Wayne is Robin, Dick Grayson is Nightwing, Jason Todd Swears, Jason Todd is Red Hood, Suspense, Tim Drake always has a plan, Tim Drake is Red Robin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-23
Updated: 2019-04-08
Packaged: 2019-11-19 10:00:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 7,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18134285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/halfmoonmagic/pseuds/halfmoonmagic
Summary: Ra's turned, gazing out at the twinkling skyline. “I’m here for a greater prize. I’m here for Gotham.”Dick tried to laugh, but all that came out was a ragged cough. “So, Batman goes off-world and you sneak into his city. Never figured you for a coward.”Ra’s was unmoved. “If the Detective wanted to keep his cesspool, he should not have left it undefended.”“It’s not undefended,” Dick said. “Even if you kill me, it still won’t be undefended.”Ra’s turned back toward him, dark eyes filled with cruel amusement. “You and your little flock don’t stand a chance, boy. But I look forward to the game nonetheless.”





	1. The Opening

The Shadows came for Dick first.

One minute, he was leaping across rooftops, heading to stop a mugging he’d spotted across the street. The next, he was face-down, a heavy boot pressing against his neck, arms pulled behind him in a painful hold.

“A beautiful night, is it not?” a voice asked.

Dick stopped struggling, his blood running cold. He was able to angle his head just enough to lay eyes on the speaker.

“I won’t let you take him,” he rasped, voice rough and breathy as the assassin’s boot dug into his throat. “Damian doesn’t belong to you anymore.”

Ra’s al Ghul, the Demon’s Head, smiled. “My heir will come to me when the time is right,” he said.

“Damian would never,” Dick snarled.

“He will,” Ra’s said. He turned, gazing out at the twinkling skyline. “But I’m here for a greater prize. I’m here for Gotham.”

Dick tried to laugh, but all that came out was a ragged cough. “So, Batman goes off-world and you sneak into his city. Never figured you for a coward.”

Ra’s was unmoved. “If the Detective wanted to keep his cesspool, he should not have left it undefended.”

“It’s not undefended,” Dick said. “Even if you kill me, it _still_ won’t be undefended.”

Ra’s turned back toward him, dark eyes filled with cruel amusement. “You and your little flock don’t stand a chance, boy. But I look forward to the game nonetheless.”

“Game?” Dick repeated. “This isn’t a _game_.”

“Yes, it is,” Ra’s said. “And this? This is the first move. You have three days. At dawn on the fourth day, your city burns.”

Dick never saw the blow that sent him spiraling into darkness.

 

*****

 

Tim watched as Jason paced back-and-forth across the cold floor of the Batcave.           

“Three days.” Jason growled, fumbling for a cigarette. “ _Fuck._  What was the point of warning you?”

“He's playing with us.” Dick massaged his throat gingerly. Tim wondered if his older brother realized how heavily he was leaning against Damian. “This whole thing is a game to him.”

“I will kill him for touching you,” Damian said darkly, eyeing the bruises on Dick’s skin. “He knows you are under my protection.”

“Thanks, Dami, but we’ve got bigger concerns right now,” Dick said. He glanced over at Tim. “You’re being awfully quiet.”

Tim folded his hands in his lap. “What do you want me to say?”

Dick’s eyes narrowed. “You’re not worried. Why aren’t you more worried?”

“Because I’ve been preparing for this day ever since I learned Ra’s al Ghul’s name,” Tim shrugged. “I knew he’d come. So I made sure I was ready.”

His brothers exchanged long glances.

“Alright, Replacement,” Jason said at last, smoke curling from his lips. “What do we do?”

“First things first, we get Dick checked out. Everyone’s going to need to be in fighting shape,” he said. Dick sighed, but he didn’t argue. Likely because Damian was glaring at him.

“And then?” Jason asked.

Tim smiled grimly. “We win the game.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A couple things to keep in mind as you read this:
> 
> 1\. This story is an amalgam of DCU (comics, movies, etc.) world-building and characters. I decided to use the world and magic that was laid out in the DC animated movies (i.e. Justice League vs Teen Titans), because it is so clearly defined. However, I’m using characters and plot elements from the comics since Jason and Tim don’t appear in those movies. This fic falls outside the official timeline of both the movies and the comics—it’s just a story that I couldn’t get out of my head.
> 
> 2\. The interludes take place during the very first night, after the events of the first chapter. Think of them as mini-flashbacks.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoy!


	2. Interlude I

“How will he do it?” Dick asked, rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously. “Did he bring some kind of weapon with him?"

“No,” Damian shook his head. “Grandfather will use something of Gotham to destroy the city. It’s his way.”

“How poetic,” Jason snarked. “So, how many WMDs does Gotham have?”

Tim opened a file on the Batcomputer. “More than you’d think.”

“Well fuck me sideways,” Jason swore as he read what was on the screen. “Ra’s is spoiled for choice.”

Dick bit his lip. “We’re going to need everyone on this. Kate, Cass, Steph—Babs can be our eyes and ears.”

Damian frowned. “It won’t be enough. There are too few of us.”

“You’ve got to stop thinking defensively,” Tim said. “Ra’s came here with a plan. We can use that to our advantage.”

“Didn’t you hear the kid?” Jason asked. “We can’t guard every single location.”

“And I’m telling you,” Tim said, looking at them all, “if we do this right, we won’t have to.”


	3. En Prise

Damian crouched on his perch atop the Wayne Enterprises headquarters, scanning his surroundings. He was due for another walk-through of the building in a couple of minutes. Even with Oracle watching, it was imperative to make sure all the security systems were functioning properly. There was a reason that members of the League were called _shadows_.

He should know. He’d been one of them. He’d been the best of them.

“ _I don’t like this_ ,” Todd said, his voice only a little distorted by the comm. “ _It’s too quiet._ ”

“ _I agree,_ ” Kane said. Damian was hardly thrilled to be including the self-styled Batwoman on this venture, but there simply wasn’t room to be picky. “ _Are you sure we chose the right targets to guard?_ ”

“ _I still think we should have sent someone to STAR Labs_ ,” Brown piped up.

“ _STAR Labs has its own security measures,_ ” Drake said, for maybe the dozenth time. “ _It’ll be fine. These are the most strategic choices. We all agreed._ ”

Damian scoffed quietly, the noise getting lost in the darkness. They hadn’t _agreed_. Drake had just spouted orders and the rest of them had followed along. That wasn’t the same thing.

Nothing to be done about it now, though. They’d committed to this course of action. Damian swung down and completed his perimeter checks. Security measures still in place. Wayne Enterprises’ R&D Department was secure.

He ended up back on the rooftop. It was a superior vantage point, after all. He could see almost the entire city from here. He looked over the towering shapes and glittering lights and felt…well, _nothing_ if he was being honest.

Damian knew that his father and the others loved Gotham, but it was not a feeling that Damian shared. He understood that Gotham was his birthright and that, one day, he would take up the mantle as Batman to defend it. But that didn’t mean he _loved_ the place. In some ways—in many ways—his grandfather had the right of it. Gotham was a cesspool of crime and corruption.

And Damian would be be lying if he didn’t admit that there were days he just wanted to watch the whole ugly place burn to ashes.

The rest of the night passed uneventfully. It was nearing dawn when the call finally came in.

“ _This is Oracle_ ,” Gordon’s voice was uncharacteristically urgent. “ _Shadows have breached STAR Labs. I repeat, the League is at STAR Labs_.”

Damian hissed a curse under his breath. He heard echoes of the same from Todd and Brown.

“ _I’m closest,_ ” Grayson said. Damian could hear the roar of his motorcycle in the background. “ _ETA is five minutes._ ”

Damian launched himself off the building, waiting until the absolute last minute to catch himself with the grapple and swing to a halt next to his own bike.

“ _Don’t be an idiot, Nightwing,_ ” Gordon snapped. “ _The place is swarming with assassins. Wait for back-up._ ”

“ _Are there civilians in the building?_ ” Grayson demanded.

“ _Just the security team._ ”

“ _Then I’m going in,_ ” Grayson said.

“ETA: eight minutes,” Damian said over the comms, cutting off Gordon’s reply. “Stay alive until I get there.”

He could hear the grin in Grayson’s voice as he answered, “ _Yes, sir._ ”

“ _The rest of us are more than fifteen minutes out_ ,” Drake said. “ _Stall them for as long as you can_.”

“Will do.”

Exactly eight minutes later, Damian fishtailed to a stop inches from the back door to STAR Labs. He jumped off his bike and raced inside the building, following the map Gordon laid out for him.

“ _The device is located on the first floor. Take two lefts and a right; entrance should be at the end of the hall,_ ” Gordon informed him. “ _Security cameras are down so I have no idea what you’re walking into._ ”

“Understood.” Damian sprinted through the building. The double doors at the end of the final hallway were wide open, revealing fifteen assassins and a device about the size of a man, gleaming in metallic black and gold. It had once served as the drive core for an alien vessel that had crash-landed on Earth. Almost a year’s worth of research—all funded by Wayne Enterprises—had unlocked the inner workings of the device. The scientists now believed the core could be converted into a source of clean energy for Gotham.

There was only one downside. The lead scientist had discovered a self-destruct sequence built into the core’s main drive which didn’t seem to have a kill-switch. If initialized, the device became a bomb with enough power to eviscerate an entire city.

It was no wonder his grandfather wanted it so badly.

Damian reached for his sword instinctively, but hesitated at the last second. He went for two batarangs instead, holding one in each hand as the first of the assassins turned toward him.

Grayson’s voice in his ear stopped him. “ _Robin! The security team is barricaded in the upper lab. The Shadows are seconds away from breaching the room. I need help!_ ”

“Our priority is the bomb!” Damian hissed back. “If I leave, they’ll take it!”

“ _If you don’t, people might die!_ ”

Damian snarled, and for a moment, he almost plunged forward to engage the Shadows around the bomb anyway.

“ _Robin, please!_ ” Grayson begged.

Damian turned and ran to help Grayson.

“ _Seven minutes out,_ ” Kane said.

“You’ll be too late,” Damian shot back.

He was right.

By the time he and Grayson had saved the civilians and returned to the ground floor, by the time the others raced into the building, the Shadows were gone.

So was the bomb.

“This is your fault,” Damian hissed at Drake.

“You think I wanted this?” Drake demanded. He shook his head and took a deep, calming breath. “At least it’s not a total loss.”

“ _What do you mean?_ ” Gordon asked over the comm.

“You know I always take precautions,” Drake said. “The lead scientist, Dr. Smith, is the only one with the self-destruct code to the core. I got him to a safe house first thing this morning. Ra’s might have the bomb, but he can’t activate it without Smith.”

Cain patted Drake on the arm. “Nice,” she said approvingly. The others nodded their agreement.

“It’s not enough,” Damian said, shaking his head. “You don’t know my grandfather. You’re underestimating him, Drake. You all are.”

“Robin,” Grayson started, reaching out.

Damian shook him off. “I’ll see you at the Batcave,” he muttered. He took off before anyone could stop him.

Even though the city was beginning to stir, Damian didn’t return home. Instead, he found a perch high on the slanted roof of an old Gothic church, hiding in plain sight among the gargoyles. He couldn’t go back.  Not yet. His grandfather had the bomb. He was halfway to his goal already and only one day of his self-imposed deadline had passed.

In two more days, Damian was sure that Ra’s would have everything he wanted.

“Damian,” a deep voice called from behind him.

Damian whirled, a batarang already in his hand before the turn was completed.

“Grandfather,” he greeted warily.

Ra’s clasped his hands behind his back, entirely unconcerned by the weapon Damian was holding. “You look well.”

“What do you want?” Damian demanded. He was tired and angry and in no mood to play games.

“I want my heir to return,” Ra’s said. “It’s past time you took your place at my side, Damian.”

Damian scoffed. “How many different ways do I have to tell you _no_?”

Ra’s shook his head. “You don’t belong with them, Damian. You know that. They do not understand the sacrifices that are necessary for the greater good. Not like you.”

 _He’s right_.

The thought was in Damian’s head before he could stop it. If Drake had chosen better targets, if Grayson hadn’t prioritized the civilians, Ra’s wouldn’t have won tonight. Gotham wouldn’t be two days closer to its demise.

“I see that you’re conflicted,” his grandfather said, reading Damian’s expression with uncomfortable accuracy. “Once you’ve cleansed yourself of your emotional attachment to these people, I’m confident that you will see things my way. In the meantime, I have something to show you.”

“What?” Damian asked.

Ra’s beckoned. “Come,” he said.

Damian hesitated. Slowly, he put away the batarang.

He went.


	4. Interlude II

“Alright, so you have a plan for the weapons,” Jason said. “What’s phase two?”

Tim turned to Dick. “You and I need to call in some favors.”

Dick frowned, rubbing at the back of his neck until Damian swatted his hand away with a scowl. “You want to get outside help?” Dick asked. “I don’t think metas are the answer, Tim. The only people we can be sure of who won’t underestimate Ra’s are already in Gotham.”

“Father never calls for help,” Damian sniffed.

“Which is exactly why Ra’s won’t see it coming,” Tim pointed out. “Besides, I’m not Bruce. Neither is Dick. We actually have friends.”

Jason snorted a laugh.

“Alright,” Dick sighed. “Who are we calling?”

“We'll need Zatanna,” Tim replied immediately. “And Raven.”

Dick stared at him. “You sure? Those two don’t exactly get along.”

“Right,” Tim said. “Maybe we don’t bring them here at the same time.”

“Yeah,” Dick agreed. “Best not.”


	5. Positional Sacrifice

Tim was waiting in the Batcave with Dick when Damian finally returned home.

“Where the hell have you been?” Dick demanded, practically grabbing Damian the second he turned off his bike. “You can’t just go running off with Ra’s out there! What if something had happened?”

Damian shrugged out of Dick’s hold. “I’m fine,” he said tersely.

“Where were you?” Dick repeated.

Damian hesitated, reaching up with one hand to fiddle with the comm device in his ear. Tim blinked at the idle movement. Damian didn’t fidget; he always moved with a purpose.

“Nowhere that concerns you,” the boy said.

"Dami,” Dick sighed, rubbing his forehead. Tim was pretty sure the older man had a headache coming on. “I know you’re frustrated that Ra’s got the bomb. But we still have Smith and two whole days. We’re winning.”

“Are we?” Damian asked sharply. There was something dark and ugly in his tone, something that Tim couldn’t put name to.

“ _Yes_ ,” Dick insisted. “I—” His phone beeped, cutting off whatever he’d been about to say. “I have to go. I promised Bruce I’d meet with some WE people while he was gone. But we are not finished with this conversation!” he threatened, racing toward the elevator. “You better be here when I get back!”

Damian’s eyes followed Dick until he was fully out of sight.

Tim folded his arms. “Alright, what’s wrong?”

Damian’s jaw clenched. “Nothing’s wrong.”

“Then why are you acting so weird?”

The younger boy bared his teeth in a silent snarl and stalked toward the changing rooms at the far end of the cave.

“Wait!” Tim called, chasing after him. “Sorry. I didn’t mean…well, I _did_ mean it, but not like that. What I’m _trying_ to say is that I’ll listen. If you want to talk, that is.”

The boy shook his head. “It’s nothing. I’m just frustrated. I imagine we’re taking shifts watching over the scientist?”

Tim nodded slowly, unconvinced by Damian’s redirect. “We’ll rotate every six hours. Jason’s with him at the moment. You’ll get him tonight—late night to early morning. It’s just the four of us and Barbara on this. Kate, Steph, and Cass are out looking for the bomb.”

“Very well.”

“I’m here, you know,” Tim tried again. “If you change your mind.”

Damian met his gaze and Tim drew a sharp breath at the hard look in his eyes. Damian very deliberately took a step back.

“I can’t,” he said.

It didn’t strike Tim until later that Damian had said _I can’t_ instead of _I won’t_.

 

*****

           

Everything seemed perfectly normal—until Tim went to relieve Damian from his shift with Dr. Smith and found them both missing.

Tim’s bo staff was in his hand in an instant, eyes scanning for signs of trouble. If the Shadows had somehow found this place, Damian wouldn’t have gone down without a fight.

But the safe house was pristine, not a thing out of place. Even the elaborate security system was still working.

Tim slowly collapsed his staff, shaking off his nerves. “Oracle,” he said, activating his comm. “Robin and Smith are gone. Have they checked in with you?”

“ _No,_ ” Barbara answered instantly. “ _I didn’t get any alerts from the alarm system._ ”

“Call Robin for me,” Tim asked.

After a moment, Barbara said, “ _No response_. _His trackers have been deactivated._ ”

“Damn it,” Tim cursed. “What about the tracker I stuck on Smith?”

“ _Got it_ ,” Barbara replied. “ _He’s in a building near the waterfront. Looks abandoned. Sending you the address now._ ”

“Contact Red Hood and Nightwing. Wake them up if you have to. I’m going after Smith,” Tim said, already moving for the door.

“ _What about Robin?_ ”

“Either he moved Smith to keep him safe or the Shadows took them both,” Tim reasoned. “Either way, they’ll be together.”

“ _Be careful, Red,_ ” Barbara cautioned.

“Always,” Tim answered.

Twenty minutes later, Tim was sneaking into the building Barbara had directed him to. She was right—the whole place was abandoned. Tim’s adrenaline spiked as he slipped from room to room, expecting assassins to leap out from behind every corner.

But none did. Somehow, that was so much worse. He’d take a dangerous enemy he could actually fight over this uncertainty any day of the week.

The fifth room he tried brought Tim’s search to a screeching halt. A pale and sweating Dr. Smith was sitting at a small table in the center of the room. Tim rushed to his side, heart pounding in his chest.

“Dr. Smith!” he said, getting close so he could examine the man’s pupils. Yeah. Definitely drugged. But there were no other signs of injury on him. “Dr. Smith, can you hear me?”

“Mmm,” Smith mumbled incoherently.

Tim pushed the man to his feet. Smith swayed, but stayed standing, a little clarity returning to his gaze.

“Come on,” Tim urged. “We’ve got to get you out of here.”

“By all means,” Ra’s said, stepping out from a dark corner. Tim jumped and raised his staff. How the hell had he missed Ra’s? “Take him. I have no further need of him.”

“Go,” Tim ordered the doctor, not taking Ra’s at his word. He removed his comm and stuck it in the scientist's ear. “Oracle will guide you. I’ll buy you some time.”

Smith stumbled toward the door. It took him a few tries, but he finally made it out into the hall.

Ra’s held out his hands in a placating gesture. “I meant what I said. He’s free to leave.”

“What did you do to him?” Tim demanded, not lowering his staff for an instant.

“He’s unharmed,” Ra’s said. “Torture is so messy and yields such dubious results. The drug I used on him was the closest thing to truth serum that you’ll find in this world. An ancient compound, refined to perfection by the League. It has no lasting effects.”

Tim clenched his jaw. “You have the self-destruct code.”

Ra’s bowed his head. “I do.”

“Then you know I can’t let you leave,” Tim said, bracing his feet for a fight. “How did you even find him?”

“I should think that was obvious,” Ra’s said.

Tim frowned. “What do you mean?”

Ra’s sighed. “You were the only one of the Detective’s protégés that I thought might stand a chance at beating me. But now I know you are as unworthy as the rest of them.”

“Oh?” Tim asked, gritting his teeth. “What makes you say that?”

Ra’s took a step forward, smiling into Tim’s eyes. “When you play a game of chess,” he said, “a bad player moves pieces around. A good player has a strategy. But a _master_ —a master sees the whole board. He’s always thinking at least ten moves ahead of his opponent.” The assassin’s smile widened into a feral grin. “You really should have looked at the whole board.”

Tim felt something move at his back. The next thing he knew, the air in front of him was coated in heavy red mist. He gasped and looked down, staring at the sword blade protruding from his chest.

There was a slight pricking at the back of his neck and then the blade pulled free. Tim’s legs collapsed from under him. A frightening coldness spread through his body.

Was this really what it felt like to die?

A figure in red and black stepped over him. Tim looked up, blinking as he tried to clear his vision.

“Damian _…_ ” Tim gasped. It was getting hard to breathe now. “ _Why?_ ”

“I’m sorry,” Damian said, his voice hard, but his eyes full of pain. The sword in his hand was coated with blood. “It was you or Grayson. And I couldn’t…not _Grayson_ …”

“I… _please_ …” Tim begged. He wasn’t even sure what he was asking for.

“I’m sorry,” Damian said again.

Ra’s took his place at Damian’s side. “Don’t apologize,” he commanded, wrapping an arm around Damian’s shoulder. Tim didn’t think he was imagining the way Damian leaned into that hold. “It was well done. Welcome home, my heir.”

They were the last words Tim heard before he let the darkness take him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't hate me. 
> 
> The story's not done yet...


	6. Interlude III

“Tim, I don’t know about this,” Dick frowned.

“It’ll work,” Tim assured him.

Jason tossed his cigarette stub to the ground and crushed it under his heel. “I’m with Dickface on this one. There are way too many things that could go wrong. What if Ra’s does something you didn’t expect?”

“He won’t,” Tim insisted. “He won’t need to.”

Dick leaned forward in his chair. “How do you know?”

“Because we’re going to make Ra’s believe _exactly_ what he wants to believe,” Tim said. “We’re going to make him believe he’s _winning._ ”

“Be careful you don’t end up fooling yourself, Drake,” Damian warned.

“I won’t,” Tim promised.


	7. Mate in One

There had been a time in Jason’s life when he’d been positive that he was going to kill Tim Drake. In the haze of the Lazarus Pit rage, Jason had even believed he’d feel _good_ once the deed was done.

And now here he was, standing in the Batcave, looking at Tim’s blood-stained body.

It didn’t feel good.

In fact, Jason felt distinctly _ill_ as he watched Dick stare with empty eyes at Tim’s still form. Dick hadn’t moved, had hardly even blinked since they’d laid Tim out on one of the cots in the medical suite near the back of the cave. That had been hours ago. They still hadn’t told Alfred.

Jason shook his head sharply. No. Hell no. He wasn’t waiting around any longer. He checked his holsters, grabbed his helmet, and headed for the exit.

Dick’s voice stopped him.

“Where are you going?”

“Where the fuck do you _think_ I’m going?” Jason snarled. “I’m gonna to kill the little shit.”

“No,” Dick shook his head. “Damian wouldn’t do this.”

“I _saw him_ , Dick,” Jason said. “His sword was covered in blood. _Tim’s_ blood.”

“No. You’re wrong. He wouldn’t,” Dick said. Like maybe if he denied it enough times, it wouldn’t be true.

“ _Dick…_ ” Barbara sighed over the open comm line. Dick recoiled at the pity in her voice.

“He _wouldn’t_.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” Jason said. He crossed to his motorcycle and was roaring out of the Batcave before Dick could muster another denial.

“Oracle, put me on a private channel,” he yelled over the noise of his bike.

“ _It’s done._ ”

“Where is he?”

“ _Hood…_ ”

“I know you tracked him from the scene,” Jason said. “Where is he?”

“ _Are you really going to kill him?_ ”

“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Jason admitted. “But it ain’t gonna be pretty.”

Barbara was silent for a long time. At last, she rattled off an address. “ _For Dick’s sake, please don’t kill him,_ ” she pleaded. “ _He could never handle losing them both._ ”

Jason growled frustratedly. “That’s a low blow.”

“ _Did it work?_ ”

“I guess we’ll find out.”

 

*****

           

Damian was waiting for him on the rooftop, sitting in a pool of late afternoon sunlight.

“Only you would be stupid enough to follow me here, Todd,” Damian said, tilting his head to the side. The movement drew Jason’s attention to the security camera on the far edge of the roof, just under the eave to the door leading down into the building. Jason smiled grimly under his helmet.

Whoever saw this was going to get one hell of a show.

He turned his full attention on Damian. “Are you even fucking _sorry_?”

A muscle jumped in Damian’s cheek. “It was him or Grayson. I didn’t have a choice.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Jason demanded. “Dick wasn’t even _there_.”

“The night the Shadows jumped Grayson,” Damian said darkly, “they implanted a bomb in his neck. A piece of nanotech. My grandfather has the detonator. He made me choose: Drake or Grayson. I chose Grayson.”

Jason paused. He forced himself think it through, like he would in any _normal_ situation.  He knew Damian. He knew his tells. The brat was a good liar, but he wasn’t _that_ good.

Which meant he was telling the truth.

Fuck.

“That’s…that’s messed up,” Jason admitted. “But why didn’t you _tell_ _us_? We could have done something about it!”

Damian launched to his feet. “There isn’t always a way out. Sometimes, you have to choose a side.”

“And you’ve chosen _them_ , is that it?” Jason snarled.

“It’s where I belong,” Damian said, tilting his chin arrogantly. “You’d understand that, if you’d ever actually been wanted by someone. If you’d ever actually _mattered_.”

“Oh, _fuck you_ ,” Jason snapped, his rage roaring to the surface. “I was already planning to beat the shit out of you, but now? Now, I’m going to enjoy it.”

“You can certainly try,” Damian said, dropping into a fighting stance.

Some people circled their opponents before a fight, feinting and testing, watching for a weakness, an opportunity—anything that would give them the advantage.

Jason wasn’t that patient.

He just charged.

The fight was brutal.

Jason had sparred with Damian before. They’d even battled it out a few times in the streets of Gotham. Jason wouldn’t have classified any of those encounters as particularly friendly. Or gentle.

This time was different. Damian had an edge Jason had never seen before. He was beginning to understand why Dick and Bruce had been so adamant about keeping the kid away from Ra’s. There was a darkness in Damian, an ugly kind of violence that showed no mercy and took no prisoners. Dick and Bruce had tried to tame that darkness, temper it with light.

Ra’s only fed it.

Jason could feel himself growing tired. He got in a lucky shot—a ferocious backhand which cracked across Damian’s jaw—and pulled back just enough to catch his breath. Damian reeled for a moment under the force of the blow, but recovered fast. Much faster than Jason had been expected.

“I am done playing games with you,” Damian hissed, throwing his weight back to snap a high kick into Jason’s sternum. Even as Jason stumbled backward, gasping for air, Damian was tucking himself into a roll. He hooked his legs around Jason’s and suddenly Jason was hitting the ground _hard_ , his helmet cracking against the rooftop.

Damian pulled himself up to one knee and punched down with all his strength into Jason’s gut. Jason retched, curling in on himself instinctively, hands clutching at his stomach. For a second, Damian's fingers tangled with his before the boy yanked his arm back viciously.

Jason stayed where he was, lungs wheezing. He couldn’t breathe. God, he couldn’t _breathe_.

Jason didn’t even notice the knife in Damian’s hand until Dick’s voice screamed, “Damian— _no!_ ”

Damian was on the far end of the roof in an instant, only a footstep away from the ledge. Jason felt Dick kneel next to him, hands running down his sides in search of injuries.

“Please, Dami,” Dick was begging. “Don’t…it doesn’t have to be this way. We can still stop Ra’s.”    

Damian stared at them, eyes dark. “You’re both fools,” he snarled. “I was the _distraction_. Grandfather knew you’d come after me. While you were wasting time dealing with me, he had the bomb moved to ensure maximum damage to the city. The detonation sequence has been programmed; the timer is set.” He shook his head. “Gotham dies tomorrow.”

And then he was gone.

In the ringing silence that followed Damian’s departure, Dick helped Jason to his feet.

“You know what we have to do, right?” Jason gasped, one hand still pressed against his side. Fuck, but the little demon hit _hard._

Dick looked at him. “Are we ready?”

Jason nodded slowly. “Yeah,” he said. “We’re ready.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost done! Just two more chapters and an epilogue to go!


	8. Interlude IV

“What’s the endgame here?” Jason wanted to know. “We get Ra’s to walk away and—what? Just pray he doesn’t come back and try again?"

“If Grandfather fails now, he will return,” Damian assured them. “He hates Gotham.”

“Ra’s is playing for keeps,” Tim agreed. “So we have to, too. It’s not enough to make him walk away. We have to make him _stay_ away.”

“How?” Dick wanted to know.

“We do what he would never expect.” Tim leaned forward. “We bring the fight to him.”


	9. Checkmate

They tracked Ra’s to an overlook well out of the blast radius, the whole city laid out before them in the pre-dawn light like a dark jewel.

“I thought you’d go down with your city,” Ra’s said, turning to greet them. Dick’s heart clenched at the sight of Damian at his grandfather’s side. The kid didn’t belong there.

“Figured we should tackle the problem at its source,” Dick said. Beside him, Jason was sizing up the masked and hooded Shadow standing to the left of Ra’s.     

“I see,” Ra’s said. “You’ve come to fight me.”

“We’ve come to kick your scrawny ass,” Jason corrected with his usual delicacy. Dick shook his head and readied his escrima sticks. Things always tended to escalate once Jason started talking.

But Ra’s merely shook his head, his smile cruel and confident. “Three against two. The numbers are not in your favor.”

Dick twirled one of his sticks nonchalantly. “Might want to count again,” he suggested.

Damian had a knife at Ra’s throat in an instant.

Dick grinned. _That_ was much better.

“You would betray me?” Ra’s hissed at his grandson. “Even when I hold the key to Richard Grayson’s life?”

“Oh, you mean this thing?” Jason asked, holding up a small detonator in his hand. “Yeah, Damian slipped it to me during our little showdown. Though he didn’t need to hit me _quite_ _so hard_ to do it,” he added pointedly.

Damian shrugged, unrepentant. “It had to look good. I was being watched.”

“Point still stands,” Jason said, tossing the detonator up in the air and catching it with one hand.

Dick winced. “Can you be careful with that? Still got a bomb in my head over here.”

Jason froze. “Sorry,” he said sheepishly. He tucked the detonator safely away. Dick breathed a sigh of relief.

Ra’s stared. “How…?”

“I’m an accomplished pickpocket, Grandfather,” Damian said. “You should know. You had me trained.”

“You used the moment of Timothy Drake’s death to your advantage,” Ra’s realized. “How very ruthless of you. I’m impressed.”

“About that…” the Shadow at Ra’s side said.

Dick thought he’d never seen a more beautiful sight than the look on Ra’s face when the Shadow pulled off his mask and hood to reveal the disheveled black hair and familiar blue eyes of one Tim Drake.

“Surprise!” Tim said. “You really shouldn’t let Damian choose your honor guard. He’s not very good at it.”

“I’m excellent at everything,” Damian sniffed.

Ra’s blinked at Tim. “I watched you die.”

Tim smiled. “You wouldn’t _believe_ how realistic Zatanna Zatara’s illusions can be. The spells she put on Damian’s sword and my uniform were masterpieces. I could have faked my death without magic, of course, but I knew you’d check for an obvious trick like that. All we really needed were some drugs to slow my heartrate so you wouldn’t find a pulse and voilà! One, dead Tim Drake, at your service.”

“We found the bomb you implanted in the back of Grayson’s neck the same night you attacked him,” Damian said. “We knew you’d use it as leverage—to control me and remove Drake from the playing field. The plan was simple to craft from there. You never truly believed I would choose my father’s way over yours.”

Ra’s gritted his teeth. “A mistake that I will not make again.”

“Hey, he admitted he made a mistake!” Dick said. “Let’s all take a moment to recognize the personal growth that’s happening here.”

“None of this matters,” Ra’s said, the cruel smile back on his lips. “It doesn’t matter that you rescued Grayson or that Drake lives. I’ve already won. Gotham falls tonight. There is no stopping the self-destruct sequence.”

“It goes off in about two minutes, right?” Dick asked, glancing at his wrist as if checking a watch. “We should have a pretty great view from here.”

“I do love fireworks,” Jason added, the smirk evident in his voice.

“There’s just been so much build up. I hope the show lives up to our expectations,” Tim sighed.

Ra’s smiled faltered. “What have you done?”

Damian gave his grandfather a pitying look. “You didn’t think it was a _coincidence_ that we left STAR Labs undefended, did you?”

Tim took a step forward, smiling into Ra’s eyes. “When you play a game of chess,” he said, “a bad player moves pieces around. A good player has a strategy. But a _master_ —a master sees the whole board. He’s always thinking at least ten moves ahead of his opponent.” Tim’s smile widened into a feral grin. “You really should have looked at the whole board.”

The moment of Gotham’s destruction came and went.

Gotham remained.

Ra’s eyes tightened. “How did you do it? The self-destruct sequence could not be deactivated.”

“You’re right,” Tim agreed. “We couldn’t turn off the self-destruct sequence. What we _could_ do was remove a few key components that completely neutralized the core.”

“Which the lab techs did,” Dick said helpfully.

“About eight hours _before_ you stole it,” Jason added.

“And yet you let me take Dr. Smith anyway,” Ra’s said. “What if he’d told me the bomb was inactive?”

“He didn’t know,” Tim explained. “Compartmentalization of information. We knew you would have to question Smith at some point so we removed him from STAR Labs before we disabled the bomb. And with Damian pretending to work for you, we could ensure Smith’s kidnapping and interrogation didn’t turn violent.”

Ra’s frowned. “But there were dozens of weapons I could have taken. How did you know which one I would choose?”

Tim gave him a look. “Dangerous tech from an alien vessel? Research funded by WE? A bomb with no kill-switch? It was pretty obvious.”

“I never realized you were so predictable, Grandfather,” Damian remarked.

“Besides, Oracle detected you the  _second_ you started eavesdropping on our comms,” Tim said. “I knew you wouldn't be able to resist knocking me down a peg and I was just so  _positive_ STAR Labs would be safe..."

Ra’s hummed appreciatively. “Well played,” he admitted. “I will concede this round.”

Tim’s expression turned hard. “You’ll concede every round.”

“Do not overreach,” Ra’s warned.

“I don’t know,” Tim said. “My reach extends pretty far. Even as far as that island where you hide the last remaining Lazarus Pit.”

Dick saw the moment the realization hit home for Ra’s. “No one could take that fortress,” the man hissed.

Dick raised an eyebrow. “Not even Batwoman and Batgirl?”

“Not even them.”

Damian tilted his head. “Not even if they were led by Cassandra Cain?”

Ra’s fell silent.

“Yeah,” Dick laughed. “That’s kinda what we thought.”

“You forgot to mention the last member of the team,” Jason admonished. Ra’s eyes snapped to him, clearly wondering what else lay in store.

“Did I?” Dick asked mildly. “Whoops.”

“You _have_ heard of the sorceress Raven, haven’t you?” Tim asked.

Ra’s frowned. “What does that demon have to do with anything?”

“Funny thing,” Tim said. “While I was researching the Lazarus Pit after you guys brought Jason back to life, I discovered that the Pit draws power from none other than Trigon the Terrible. You know, Raven’s dad?” Tim added helpfully. “So we asked Raven if she knew a spell that would neutralize the Pit.”

“And wouldn’t you know it,” Dick grinned. “She said _yes_.”

Ra’s paled. “Impossible.”

"Oh, the spell’s already in place,” Jason told him. “We give the word and Raven will turn your ticket to immortality into nothing more than a really ugly swimming pool. And the best part? She can do it at any time. From anywhere in the world. It even goes off if you try to kill her, so I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

“I don’t believe you,” Ra’s said.

Tim fished his phone out of his pocket. “Thought you might say that,” he murmured, fingers tapping busily on the screen. After a moment, he flipped the device around toward Ra’s. “Say hello!”

“Hi!” Steph said cheerily, the camera bouncing as she waved. Cass smiled at them from the background of the shot. “You know, when I said I wanted a vacation, this is _not_ what I had in mind. Whoever decorated this place has no sense of style.”

“Would you mind putting Raven on the phone?” Tim asked.

“Oh, sorry. No can do. She’s still finishing up,” Steph said. The camera tilted suddenly and then they were looking at a small figure in a black cloak floating above a lake of poison-green water. The air around her glowed black as waves of power rolled through the cavern and sank down into the waters below.

“Thanks, Steph,” Tim said. “That’s all we needed to see.”

“You got it!” Steph said brightly, her face appearing in the frame once more. She glanced to the side as Kate’s voice muttered something off-screen. “Oh hey! Did the city blow up? I’m asking for a friend.”

Tim snorted. “Nope. All good here.”

“Sweet. Let me know if you need Raven to blow this joint,” she said.

“Will do. Go ahead and make your way home. Tim out.”

Steph burst out laughing. “Tim! We talked about this! That is _the dumbest_ way to say goodby—!”

Tim ended the call before she could get any further. Dick smothered a grin and exchanged an amused glance with Jason.

Even when he was out-maneuvering a functionally immortal assassin, Tim was still such a nerd. Dick loved his little brother so much it hurt.

Ra’s had found little funny about the exchange. He was uncharacteristically silent as he watched Tim put his phone away. Dick could almost see the gears whirring in his head as he grasped for a strategy that would put him back on top.

“You’re beaten, Grandfather,” Damian said, breaking the silence. “Accept it.”

Ra’s shoulders slumped. Dick felt a thrill of victory run through him.

Holy shit. They’d actually _done it_.

“What do you want?” Ra’s asked.

“For starters? Stay the hell away from our family and our city,” Tim said. “We can work out the rest later.”

Ra’s bowed his head. “Very well,” he said. “This isn’t over, you know. I will return.”

“I’ll be ready,” Tim promised, nothing but steel in his gaze.

Damian finally removed the knife from his grandfather’s neck. Ra’s walked slowly to the sleek car parked on the side of the road, got in, and sped off.

For a while, the four of them just stood there in the gathering light.

Then, Jason cleared his throat.

"So how long do you think it’s gonna take him to realize there’s no spell on the Pit?” he asked.

Tim shrugged. “No clue. Raven made it look pretty damn convincing. Should keep him worried for a little while.”

Dick walked over to Damian, tucking the kid under one arm. “Glad to have you back.”

Damian rolled his eyes, but didn’t pull away. Dick looked over at Tim. “You, too,” he said.

“I was with you practically the whole time,” Tim protested. Dick twitched his fingers at him. Tim sighed and leaned into his other side.

“Jason?” Dick offered, glancing at his remaining brother.

Jason shook his head vehemently. “Don’t even fucking think about it.”

Dick laughed. “Fine. Be that way.” He glanced down in time to catch Tim staring out over Gotham, a strange look in his eye.

“Whatcha thinking about, Timmy?” Dick asked.

Tim grinned. “Checkmate,” he answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there it is!
> 
> Real talk, guys--I had a fun/difficult time trying to write these chapters so that you got hints of what was really going on without giving the whole thing away. Hopefully, you feel like all the pieces came together at the end here. Let me know if you have any lingering questions!
> 
> Only the epilogue left! It's time for Bruce to come home and find out what his boys have been up to while he was away...


	10. Epilogue

It was four in the morning when Bruce finally made it to the Batcave. He was exhausted and achy and desperately wanted _out_ of the Bat-suit, but at least he was back.

Unsurprisingly, Tim was still awake and sorting through some files, an empty coffee mug near his elbow. He grinned when he saw Bruce, eyes lighting up despite the dark circles under them.

“Welcome back!” he exclaimed. “You have good timing. Two minutes later and I would have gone up to bed.”

“Don’t stop on my account,” Bruce said, pulling his cowl off. “One of us should get some rest.”

Tim shrugged. “How was the mission?”

Bruce rubbed his eyes tiredly. “Long. But we did good work.”

He, Clark, and Diana, along with some of the Green Lanterns, had saved an entire alien world from a hostile, invading force. Bruce was glad they’d gone, but he was even more glad to be home. He never felt quite right away from Gotham, like he was missing a piece of his soul.

“Anything happen while I was away?” Bruce asked, easing himself into the nearest chair with a sigh.

“Not much,” Tim answered. “Dick took down Condiment King. There were a couple of muggings. Nothing really exciting.”

“Good,” Bruce grunted, turning toward the Batcomputer. He could catch up on a little work before he went to bed.

“Oh and Ra’s al Ghul stopped by, put a bomb in Dick’s head, tried to blow up the city. Damian pretended to kill me—it was a whole _thing_. But we stopped him, so it all turned out alright. Anyway, good night!” Tim called, ducking toward the elevator.

Bruce blinked, his tired brain taking a moment to catch up with Tim’s words. Then—

“Ra’s put…And Damian did _what_?” Bruce growled, rising from his seat. “Tim, _get back here!_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally going to be a longer chapter, but the shorter ending just felt right to me. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed the story!


End file.
